Category Archives: Practice

Finally this painting got off the easel and went on a wall after 6 months of being pushed here and there.

Acrylic on Canvas 24″X 36″

The reason for the delay was its size , I was overwhelmed with this project and didn’t know how to start and how to go ahead with the layering, when to use the palette knife and how to make the grass etc. I had started this painting with oils and then layered it with acrylics. This is believed to be a wrong approach among artists but still i went ahead. My each step was frustrating and I thought I had made a mistake by choosing a huge canvas but then slowly as the layers kept on adding I started to enjoy it.

This is the right time to take out your diary and start scribbling the new year resolutions. I would have also been doing the same had I not consulted the family palmist – my mother. Running her fingers on my palm, once again she repeated those words, ‘Pity pity pity…. what lines …. only if you stop thinking much and start working a bit. ‘

So in order to prepare a To-Do list I dug into my bundle of old unused stuff. I found a sealed notebook which I purchased in 2016 in hope to convert it into a journal. I had read somewhere that keeping a journal helps you harness your creativity. Actually you get lot of similar life hacks if you randomly google whenever you get time resulting in the crisscross lines like those are on my palm.

The first thing in my list is to learn acrylic painting. I wanted to pen it down but a different idea struck me. What if I convert this notebook into an art journal and start practicing acrylics on it! If any things goes wrong and I am not satisfied with the painting, I can easily tear off the paper and start a fresh one and keep experimenting till I get my hands on acrylics. It’s better to have a spoilt paper than a spoilt canvas. Also I will end up having an Art Journal by the year end.

Next I bought a “Camlin Texture White” to coat the pages so that they don’t absorb acrylics and provide a good surface for painting. I already have few ideas to paint and along with that I have selected some 15 pictures from the December issue of Outlook Traveller .

So this New Year my New Project will be “Art Journaling” or say Art Diary .

Hope you guys enjoy this new project along with me !!! I will update my Journal entries asap.

A monochromatic Buddha completed over a period of one month on a 24X18″ stretched canvas. The colors used are – Prussian Blue, Cobalt Blue, Teal, White, Ivory Black, Cadmium Yellow .

While preparing the underpainting I had a different picture in mind. However as the painting evolved many changes were made. This painting is made for someone who knew exactly what this painting should have. From its color , tones , glow every thing and before I could make a mistake of putting lotuses at the back she suggested me that a mandal at the back would be better… and here it is !!!!! (though this is what I could get closest to a mandal)

For those interested in the layering and detailing involved the photos of different steps are as below:

This painting is for one of my friend (on order) and so was my Sunrise painting. ( ref: Post 11). This painting was meant to be a fine art work but somehow turned up into a knife painting. With this painting I have realized that Knife gives me contentment and the strokes it creates give me immense pleasure. I am so waiting to explore more knife work.

I had this small oil panel which was lying unused for a long time. I have been filling it with colors in between the major paintings. By doing so I get break from monotonous activity and as these small paintings finish fast they give a sense of accomplishment too.

I have skipped over the detailing part and have emphasized on the shadows and the color contrast.

This painting under my ‘5 painting project’ (Please Refer Post-3 ) was just for practice purpose to learn bold strokes. It is a complete imitation of other artists work. I was not feeling good imitating the painting as well as technique of some other artist but before I could feel guilty I came across this quote ” Every body imitates before they innovate”- Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert.

Oil on Canvas Sheet

I felt better. It doesn’t mean I will keep imitating . As I said it was purely for study purpose therefore I look forward to create more paintings using the bold stroke technique.

The two most notorious colors that have troubled me are white and black. I have remained frustrated for a very long time. They are so strong that they steal all the attention in a bad way.

I have been trying to tame white colour since a long time. This time I thought of challenging myself to use mostly white and black in the whole painting and still let some other colour steal the show. So here i am with the nebula as a practice work.

I have been restless these days. Lately I have started painting a lot. Sometimes I paint from photo references; sometimes I copy other art work. I have realized that only way to improve your art is to practise, practise and practise. In order to take the time out in weekends, I have started doing all weekend chores on the weekdays and that includes doing laundry daily after office.

Even after painting so much I am not happy. I follow artists, sometimes try to replicate their style , sometimes I try to replicate nature but it drives me crazy to think that I don’t have any particular style which can be called my signature style. Then to keep all such negative feelings away I have decided to give myself some time. I need to work with colors as much as I can and maybe one day that style will just flow out of my brush.

Making of wild Lily. Final painting will be uploaded soon.

While trying to stay positive, I would make a special mention of Lena Danya – a self-taught artist. I follow her on You tube and Instagram, her regular updates have kept me gripped and motivated. Along with her videos and time lapses she keeps talking about her experiences, experiments and techniques which give me a lot of guidance.So inspired by her and to keep myself moving ahead I have made a small to-paint list which I will be painting for practice purpose.

Nebula

Fish

Glasses and candles

Portrait of a Tibetan girl

Bold stroke sea painting (replication of original art work)

All these will be made from reference photos except the last one which is just to try a new technique.